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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
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					<title>Measuring development through wellbeing, sustainability and more [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/measuring-development-through-wellbeing-sustainability-and-more-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/measuring-development-through-wellbeing-sustainability-and-more-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Jul 2026 15:05:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Oliver King EDISoumya Swaminathan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GDP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green Accounting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[resilience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sustainability]]></category>
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											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Finance]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Finance, Climate Change Adaptation, and Conservation finance]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India&#8217;s development story, like much of the world, continues to be told through a single number: Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Every quarter, GDP growth dominates headlines, shaping perceptions of economic success and influencing policy priorities. Yet GDP measures only the value of goods and services produced within an economy. It does not reveal whether soils [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India&#8217;s development story, like much of the world, continues to be told through a single number: Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Every quarter, GDP growth dominates headlines, shaping perceptions of economic success and influencing policy priorities. Yet GDP measures only the value of goods and services produced within an economy. It does not reveal whether soils are becoming more fertile, biodiversity is recovering, water resources are being replenished, diets are becoming healthier, or communities are becoming more resilient. While GDP remains indispensable for measuring economic activity, it was never designed to capture the quality, equity or sustainability of development. Recognising these limitations, the recently released report of the United Nations High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP, Counting What Counts: A Compass of Progress for People and Planet, urges countries to complement GDP with a broader framework that measures well-being, equity, sustainability and resilience. Rather than replacing GDP, the report recommends integrating these measures into planning, budgeting and accountability systems so that governments assess what truly matters for long-term human progress. For India, this call is particularly timely. Over the past three decades, the country has achieved remarkable economic growth, lifting millions out of poverty and becoming one of the world&#8217;s largest economies. Yet this progress has coincided with ecological degradation, groundwater depletion, biodiversity loss, climate vulnerability, nutritional insecurity and growing pressure on rural livelihoods. Economic output can continue to rise even as the natural and social systems that sustain it are steadily weakened. Relying solely on GDP therefore risks encouraging policies&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/measuring-development-through-wellbeing-sustainability-and-more-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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						<item>
					<title>Forest finance and the challenges money cannot fix [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/forest-finance-and-the-challenges-money-cannot-fix-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/forest-finance-and-the-challenges-money-cannot-fix-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Dec 2025 10:46:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ishan Kukreti]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[community based conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[COP30]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[deforestation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FAO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Finance Commission]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[REDD+]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[State of Forest Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UNEP]]></category>
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											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Finance]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation finance and Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Forests have been in the spotlight recently. In October, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) State of Forest Finance report reiterated that existing financial flows to forests are significantly short of meeting climate, biodiversity and land degradation-related targets. In November, during the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) of the United Nations Framework Convention on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Forests have been in the spotlight recently. In October, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) State of Forest Finance report reiterated that existing financial flows to forests are significantly short of meeting climate, biodiversity and land degradation-related targets. In November, during the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Brazil launched a new $125 billion forest financing mechanism, the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), which aims to inject funds into tropical forests through a fundamentally different approach to forest finance. This launch comes at a time when existing forest finance remains insufficient to support climate action. Financial flows remain largely public in nature and are skewed towards developed countries. UNEP’s report found that financial mobilisation needs to more than triple, from $84 billion in 2023 to $300 billion per year by 2030. At the same time, harmful financial flows of $8.9 trillion continue to support deforestation-linked activities, particularly commodity production such as soy, palm oil, beef, rubber, coffee, and cocoa. Even though deforestation rates remain the highest in tropical developing countries, the total existing funding, from domestic and international sources, is skewed towards advanced and high-income countries. Additionally, in some tropical countries, domestic spending on forests exceeds the international finance they receive. For instance, India spent over $7 billion in 2023, driven by the Finance Commission&#8217;s ecological transfers and compensatory afforestation policies, the highest among tropical countries and the third-highest globally. It dwarfed the $81 million inflow in that year. Local&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/forest-finance-and-the-challenges-money-cannot-fix-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Rethinking conservation finance with basic income for nature [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/rethinking-conservation-finance-with-basic-income-for-nature-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/rethinking-conservation-finance-with-basic-income-for-nature-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Sep 2025 16:06:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Munib Khanyari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Biodiversity finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[biodiversity loss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[community based conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Human rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Market-based instruments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sustainable Finance]]></category>
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					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34547</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Finance]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change Mitigation and Conservation finance]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Globally, while efforts are underway to achieve conservation aims, our collective progress remains limited in the face of biodiversity loss, land and sea degradation, and mounting social and ecological pressures resulting from climate change.  This is further hindered by non-inclusive ways to do conservation, which exclude and marginalise local and indigenous peoples and can go [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Globally, while efforts are underway to achieve conservation aims, our collective progress remains limited in the face of biodiversity loss, land and sea degradation, and mounting social and ecological pressures resulting from climate change.  This is further hindered by non-inclusive ways to do conservation, which exclude and marginalise local and indigenous peoples and can go as far as causing human rights abuses in the name of attempting to achieve conservation goals. Besides this, conservation tends to be a “crisis” discipline, with limited time to address the intertwined climate-biodiversity-pollution crisis on an ever-restricted budget.  Hence, it becomes essential to rethink conservation in transformative ways, not only in how it is practiced but also in how it is funded. This is where convivial conservation approaches become important. It promotes the coexistence of wildlife and people, rather than separating them as in strict protected areas. This approach to conservation is based on a holistic “whole earth” vision where the principle is that human places and nature can and should be integrated within both rural and urban spaces. This is an alternative to proposals such as “half earth,” which are premised on strict “protection” and limiting or removing human use. To facilitate a more inclusive approach, a transformation of the global economy and a more equal distribution of wealth are needed. Market-based instruments (MBIs) such as ecotourism and payment for ecosystem services programmes, despite more than thirty years of trials and implementation, have delivered few success stories and attracted a range of criticism. Forestland&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/rethinking-conservation-finance-with-basic-income-for-nature-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Conserving India’s biodiversity will cost Rs. 816 billion per year, says new plan</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/11/conserving-indias-biodiversity-will-cost-rs-816-billion-per-year-says-new-plan/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/11/conserving-indias-biodiversity-will-cost-rs-816-billion-per-year-says-new-plan/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Nov 2024 15:29:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Biodiversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Biodiversity Board]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cop16]]></category>
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					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=30154</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species and Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, and Conservation finance]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India presented its updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan in Cali, Colombia during the 16th Conference of Parties (COP16) under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity on October 30. In doing so, India joined several other countries in aligning its biodiversity strategy with global goals and targets for 2030 and 2050. The National Biodiversity [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India presented its updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan in Cali, Colombia during the 16th Conference of Parties (COP16) under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity on October 30. In doing so, India joined several other countries in aligning its biodiversity strategy with global goals and targets for 2030 and 2050. The National Biodiversity Plan (NBSAP) seeks to integrate biodiversity conservation and its sustainable use into national decision making. India’s NBSAP was last updated in 2014. The latest update has been at least a year in the making, when the government formed a working group in 2023 to hold consultations with stakeholders and come up with a draft plan. The 200-page plan takes a “whole of government, whole of society” approach, according to Kirti Vardhan Singh, minister of state of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. “Our commitment and actions will go a long way in advancing the objectives of the Convention on Biodiversity,” he said in a statement. The 23 targets and goals in the latest national plan align with broader targets set by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, an agreement to halt and reverse biodiversity loss that was adopted by countries in 2022. Putting the plan into action is projected to cost an average of Rs. 81,664 crores (Rs. 816 billion) per year between 2024-2025 and 2029-2030, split across 23 ministries and departments within government. Kirti Vardhan Singh, Union Minister of State for the environment ministry, presenting India&#8217;s updated NBSAP. Image by Kirti Vardhan Singh&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/11/conserving-indias-biodiversity-will-cost-rs-816-billion-per-year-says-new-plan/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Finance issue pushing countries into ‘two opposing camps’ at biodiversity COP</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/finance-issue-pushing-countries-into-two-opposing-camps-at-biodiversity-cop/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/finance-issue-pushing-countries-into-two-opposing-camps-at-biodiversity-cop/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Oct 2024 11:55:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Biodiversity finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cop16]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Global Environment Facility]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UN CBD]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/10/31105311/CBD_COP16-0544-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=30098</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environomy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity and Conservation finance]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The second week of the Conference of Parties (COP16) meeting under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UN CBD) in Cali, Colombia, began with an issue that has followed every discussion at the talks – finance. October 28 marked ‘Finance Day’ at the COP16, where events matched the day’s theme in discussing funding for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The second week of the Conference of Parties (COP16) meeting under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UN CBD) in Cali, Colombia, began with an issue that has followed every discussion at the talks – finance. October 28 marked ‘Finance Day’ at the COP16, where events matched the day’s theme in discussing funding for nature. In negotiations, however, the question of how to mobilise funds for biodiversity has been the most contentious and seen disagreements between countries over equity and access. “Two opposing camps have been standing in their corners stubbornly,” Bernadette Fischler Hooper, head of international advocacy at WWF UK, said during a press conference on Monday, “It is crucial that parties build trust and the confidence that those resources will flow. This deadlock needs to be broken now.” If delegates are unable to agree on a finance mechanism, discussions will be taken over by Ministers before the conference comes to an end on November 1. &#8220;A lot of ground needs to be covered in providing easily accessible means of implementation, i.e.  financial resources, technology and capacity building needs with the requisite speed, scope and scale,&#8221; said Union Minister of State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Kirti Vardhan Singh, while delivering India&#8217;s national statement on October 29. Locating the biodiversity fund The UN CBD is dedicated to the global conservation and sustainable use of biological resources, covering ecosystems, species diversity, and genetic resources – all of which contribute to economic activity everywhere. The protection and restoration of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/10/finance-issue-pushing-countries-into-two-opposing-camps-at-biodiversity-cop/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Budget balances coalition demands, job challenges and green initiatives</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/07/budget-balances-coalition-demands-job-challenges-and-green-initiatives/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/07/budget-balances-coalition-demands-job-challenges-and-green-initiatives/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jul 2024 15:50:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Annual budget]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Clean Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[decentralised energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[energy transition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MSME]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Solar Rooftop]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sustainable development goals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sustainable Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Union budget]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban]]></category>
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											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Finance, Clean Energy, Conservation finance, Energy, Environment, Environmental Politics, and Industry]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[After recent parliamentary election setbacks for the Bharatiya Janata Party, where it lost key seats, its Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman faced a dual challenge as she presented her seventh consecutive budget on July 23, the first for the current administration: managing coalition demands and addressing rising unemployment. Despite these constraints, she introduced several initiatives [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[After recent parliamentary election setbacks for the Bharatiya Janata Party, where it lost key seats, its Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman faced a dual challenge as she presented her seventh consecutive budget on July 23, the first for the current administration: managing coalition demands and addressing rising unemployment. Despite these constraints, she introduced several initiatives aimed at a greener future, though many were reiterations of previous announcements. Sitharaman outlined nine key priorities, including boosting productivity and resilience in agriculture, advancing urban development, securing energy, and enhancing manufacturing and services, focusing on Medium, Small, and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs). Chandra Bhushan, CEO of iForest, a New Delhi-based non-profit, noted that while the number of announcements mirrored those in interim budgets, the four priorities — energy security, resilient agriculture, focus on MSMEs, and urban development — are crucial for the future due to their significant environmental co-benefits. Within these objectives, the finance minister announced several initiatives which are already in progress. These included the Taxonomy for Climate Finance, a classification of climate investments that has been in progress for at least three years; the free solar electricity scheme PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana which was first introduced in February; the carbon market, an ongoing process since 2022; the Advanced Ultra Super Critical Thermal Power Plants, with pilot studies that was initiated in 2016; and a plan to encourage 10 million farmers to adopt natural farming practices, continuing an effort from the previous year’s budget. Along with mitigation and adaptation efforts, the budget&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/07/budget-balances-coalition-demands-job-challenges-and-green-initiatives/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>[Commentary] Why RBI’s financial governance should address social and environmental concerns</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/07/commentary-why-rbis-financial-governance-should-address-social-and-environmental-concerns/</link>
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					<pubDate>24 Jul 2024 12:52:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Amitanshu Verma]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[financial institutions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[project finance framework for FIs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RBI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reserve Bank of India]]></category>
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											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environomy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Finance, Conservation finance, Environmental Economics, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[An expressway through a dense forest to facilitate trade, tourism, or pilgrimage; a massive hydropower project in the Himalayas producing electricity for our hot-as-hell metropolitan cities; and a vast solar park in Rajasthan to shift our power production from fossil fuels to renewables. These are all instances united by two facts. One, such projects seek [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[An expressway through a dense forest to facilitate trade, tourism, or pilgrimage; a massive hydropower project in the Himalayas producing electricity for our hot-as-hell metropolitan cities; and a vast solar park in Rajasthan to shift our power production from fossil fuels to renewables. These are all instances united by two facts. One, such projects seek large volumes of finance from public banks and financial institutions (FIs) that run on public savings, investments, insurance installments, and more. These are risky investments with long gestation periods and uncertainties and the danger of public money being lost is ever-present. And second, projects of such scale have significant consequences for local communities, the environment, biodiversity, and climate. This puts the recent announcement by RBI of a project finance framework for FIs, right in the heart of our present predicaments. Is public money flowing into the project benefiting everyone? Is the project adding to or mitigating climate emergencies, environmental degradation, loss of livelihood, and the rights of impacted communities? Project finance refers to funding devoted to a project and repaid mostly through proceeds generated after the commencement of the project’s commercial operations. While guidelines for the management of stressed assets and insolvency resolution for operational projects are already in place, the recent release is an attempt to prevent cost overruns and mandate a regulatory apparatus for losses that take place during the construction phase of projects. The prudential framework outlines guidelines for lenders providing project finance in infrastructure, non-infrastructure, and commercial real estate sectors. It&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/07/commentary-why-rbis-financial-governance-should-address-social-and-environmental-concerns/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>[Commentary] Ambiguity on fund allocation shrouds Project Tiger and Project Elephant merger</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/01/commentary-ambiguity-on-fund-allocation-shrouds-project-tiger-and-project-elephant-merger/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/01/commentary-ambiguity-on-fund-allocation-shrouds-project-tiger-and-project-elephant-merger/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jan 2024 15:53:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Akshay ChettriIshika Patodi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[project elephant]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Project Tiger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/01/23113539/Herd_of_elephants_in_Dhikala_chaur_AJTJ_DSCN8222-e1705990481567-768x501.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=26156</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Hewing The Regulatory Tree]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Conservation finance, Elephants, Tigers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On June 23, 2023, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) released an order announcing, retrospectively, the merger of the Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) of Project Tiger and Project Elephant from April 1, 2023, onwards. A new division, Project Tiger &#38; Elephant (PT&#38;E) was created out of the merger. Until then, the two [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On June 23, 2023, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) released an order announcing, retrospectively, the merger of the Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) of Project Tiger and Project Elephant from April 1, 2023, onwards. A new division, Project Tiger &amp; Elephant (PT&amp;E) was created out of the merger. Until then, the two schemes had been running as independent sub-schemes under the umbrella scheme of Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats. Project Tiger and Project Elephant were launched in 1973 and 1992, respectively, to effectively streamline the conservation management and governance of both species and their habitats. Both projects began with an overall objective of providing administrative, financial, legal, technical and other support for the conservation of both species. The Centrally Sponsored Schemes provide the financial and technical support. An amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act in 2006, provided statutory protection to tiger conservation, establishing the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), defining its powers and functions and declaring tiger reserves as an overlay protected area category for tiger conservation. Project Elephant, however, continued to be under the administration of the Project Elephant Division of the MoEFCC. Wildlife conservationist Prerna Singh Bindra told the authors that hard recommendations towards the protection of the elephant provided by the Elephant Task Force Report 2010, such as graded legal protection for elephant habitats and corridors as well as the establishment of a statutory body, have not been taken up by the ministry. In response to an ongoing Supreme Court case filed by Bindra pertaining&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/01/commentary-ambiguity-on-fund-allocation-shrouds-project-tiger-and-project-elephant-merger/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>[Commentary] How to strategically align CSR funds to meet India&#8217;s sustainability goals</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/12/commentary-how-to-strategically-align-csr-funds-to-meet-indias-sustainability-goals/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/12/commentary-how-to-strategically-align-csr-funds-to-meet-indias-sustainability-goals/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Dec 2023 09:35:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abi T. VanakAnuja Malhotra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CSR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sustainable development goals]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/12/21083139/4147-scaled-e1703127992420-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=25748</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environomy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation finance and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Corporate India invested a record sum of over Rs. 25,000 crores in 2021-22 toward Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expenditure. The expenditure was made by more than 18,000 companies that cumulatively implemented almost 40,000 projects to address various development issues. Additionally, some companies even exceeded their obligations under Section 135 of The Companies Act, 2013 and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Corporate India invested a record sum of over Rs. 25,000 crores in 2021-22 toward Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expenditure. The expenditure was made by more than 18,000 companies that cumulatively implemented almost 40,000 projects to address various development issues. Additionally, some companies even exceeded their obligations under Section 135 of The Companies Act, 2013 and spent more than 2% of their net profit over the preceding three years. Even though this resource mobilisation is a result of mandatory regulatory imposition by the government, it reflects the notable role and contribution of India Inc. toward India’s social and developmental issues. The distribution of these funds to various sectors, however, is skewed. The lion’s share of the CSR has gone towards education, sanitation and health. Conservation and restoration of natural assets (the environment sector) have received a considerably smaller portion of CSR funds. Sixty five percent of the funds have been allocated to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 (good health and wellbeing), SDG 4 (quality education) and SDG 1 (no poverty), while the environment sector received less than 7% of these funds. In fact, since the mandate, the proportion of CSR funds allocated to the environment sector has never exceeded 10% of the available allocation. This may be attributed to a lack of quantifiable metrics in the environmental and ecological sector, the long gestation period required to calculate “returns” and lack of usable monitoring, reporting and evaluation frameworks. These challenges are further exacerbated by the fact that executing environmental projects requires expertise&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/12/commentary-how-to-strategically-align-csr-funds-to-meet-indias-sustainability-goals/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>More climate change variables needed in 16th Finance Commission&#8217;s tax distribution formula, say experts</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/10/more-climate-change-variables-should-be-used-in-16th-finance-commission-formula-on-tax-distribution-say-experts/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/10/more-climate-change-variables-should-be-used-in-16th-finance-commission-formula-on-tax-distribution-say-experts/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Oct 2023 13:25:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate action]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate co-benefits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Currency and Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Finance Commission]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[State Finance Commission]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[States]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tax Devolution]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/10/06084740/Forest-cover-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=24743</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Connected Environments and Environomy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Finance, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Change Mitigation, and Conservation finance]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As the union government gears up to constitute the 16th Finance Commission (FC) – the constitutional body for centre-state financial relations – experts recommend including variables related to climate change, beyond forest cover, to determine the division of tax revenue among states. So far, the last two Finance Commissions, which cover a period of ten [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As the union government gears up to constitute the 16th Finance Commission (FC) – the constitutional body for centre-state financial relations – experts recommend including variables related to climate change, beyond forest cover, to determine the division of tax revenue among states. So far, the last two Finance Commissions, which cover a period of ten years, focused solely on forest cover within the climate change criterion that was incorporated into the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the 13th FC. Based on the TOR determined by the central government, FC gives a formula for sharing tax revenue, between union and state and also among states themselves. With climate change challenges increasing, experts say there is a need for composite formulae that include other climate-change related variables such as biodiversity, ecosystem services etc. Lekha Chakraborty, a professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), told Mongabay India that climate change is dynamic and forest cover is just one dimension of it. The need to incorporate other variables related to climate change is important. However, the 16th FC has to take a call on whether they want to use a composite formula (that brings together multiple variables) to proxy climate change or a single indicator approach (that focuses on one variable), she said. In a 2021 paper, she wrote about the positives and negatives of the single indicator formula and a composite formula. Adding more indicators to the formula could increase the incentive to protect and restore forests or direct conservation&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/10/more-climate-change-variables-should-be-used-in-16th-finance-commission-formula-on-tax-distribution-say-experts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>India prepares for a domestic carbon market with release of a draft carbon trading scheme</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/04/india-prepares-for-a-domestic-carbon-market-with-release-of-a-draft-carbon-trading-scheme/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/04/india-prepares-for-a-domestic-carbon-market-with-release-of-a-draft-carbon-trading-scheme/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Apr 2023 16:03:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bureau of Energy Efficiency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Carbon Market]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Carbon Trading]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CBAM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CDM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[COP26]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indian Carbon Market]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/04/12151104/1600px-Olectra_-_BYD_Electric_Bus_Hyderabad_3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=22424</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environomy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Carbon Finance, Conservation finance, and Environmental Economics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India&#8217;s carbon market is gradually taking shape with the latest push from the Ministry of Power which released a draft of the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS). The draft establishes the institutional framework and mechanisms for the functioning of the Indian carbon credit market. The carbon trading scheme was introduced through the Energy Conservation (Amendment) [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India&#8217;s carbon market is gradually taking shape with the latest push from the Ministry of Power which released a draft of the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS). The draft establishes the institutional framework and mechanisms for the functioning of the Indian carbon credit market. The carbon trading scheme was introduced through the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 which provides for empowering the central government to specify such a scheme. The power ministry is now in the process of finalising the CCTS draft, released on March 27, and has invited comments from the public before April 14. Experts say that the release of this scheme indicates that India is keen on developing a carbon market. While speaking at an event on February 23, the Director of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Saurabh Diddi, said that the government is planning to notify the Carbon Credits Trading Scheme this June. He shared the details of the government&#8217;s efforts to prepare a robust and credible domestic market. The government plans to organise 20-30 workshops nationwide for discussions on various aspects of the market. &#8220;We want to ensure that these credits generated under Indian Carbon Market (ICM) should be credible enough that no one questions it in the future,&#8221; he added. The BEE is proposed to be the administrator of the ICM. The proposed board which will regulate the Indian Carbon Market will suggest policies, setup framework for the for voluntary carbon credit trading, and specify criteria for selling carbon credit certificates to foreign buyers.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/04/india-prepares-for-a-domestic-carbon-market-with-release-of-a-draft-carbon-trading-scheme/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Without considering green GDP, the budget’s claim of green growth is weak</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/02/without-green-gdp-the-budgets-claim-of-green-growth-looks-weak/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2023/02/without-green-gdp-the-budgets-claim-of-green-growth-looks-weak/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Feb 2023 17:02:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Annual budget]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Economic Survey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GDP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green Accounting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green GDP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green Growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Union budget]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/04/27213724/LLS05174-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=21683</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Finance, Climate Change, Conservation finance, and Environmental Economics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When the union budget was unveiled last week, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman cited &#8220;green growth&#8221; as one of the government&#8217;s major priorities. The 2023-24 budget was widely regarded as India&#8217;s &#8220;green budget.&#8221; &#8220;These green growth efforts will help reduce the carbon intensity of the economy and provide for large-scale green job opportunities,&#8221; said Sitharaman. However, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When the union budget was unveiled last week, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman cited &#8220;green growth&#8221; as one of the government&#8217;s major priorities. The 2023-24 budget was widely regarded as India&#8217;s &#8220;green budget.&#8221; &#8220;These green growth efforts will help reduce the carbon intensity of the economy and provide for large-scale green job opportunities,&#8221; said Sitharaman. However, several experts say this claim of green growth without factoring in green accounting is hollow. Anjal Prakash, Research Director, Bharti Institute of Public Policy, Indian School of Business, says that green growth is one of the offshoots of green GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Without calculating green GDP, the idea of green growth is like making a structure without a proper base. Green GDP is essentially a measure of economic growth, factoring in the environmental consequences of the growth. In India&#8217;s estimation of green GDP, environmental impacts such as carbon dioxide and particulate emissions damage, opportunity cost of energy depletion along with mineral and net forest depletion are given a value which is then subtracted from the actual GDP. The country&#8217;s expenditure on environmental protection is then added to arrive at the Green GDP value. Fund allocations to go &#8216;green&#8217; The budget allocates an increased amount, compared to previous years, to several schemes that promote green energy and conserve biodiversity. Rs. 4970 crore was allocated for the solar power grid-connected scheme, a 48% increase from the previous year&#8217;s revised estimate. Similarly, the government allocated Rs. 362 crore for off-grid solar, compared to Rs. 62 crore from&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2023/02/without-green-gdp-the-budgets-claim-of-green-growth-looks-weak/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>A framework for sovereign green bonds a step in the right direction but has miles to go</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/11/govt-releases-framework-for-sovereign-green-bonds/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/11/govt-releases-framework-for-sovereign-green-bonds/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Nov 2022 11:19:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clean energy finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate Action Plan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate mitigation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green Bonds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Investors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sovereign green bonds]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/11/21215316/IMG_20221105_075235-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=20708</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and Environomy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Finance, Conservation finance, Environmental Economics, Industry, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Moving a step ahead towards boosting investor confidence in financing climate action, the Government of India (GoI) has developed a framework for Sovereign Green bonds (SGrB), in which it defines the &#8216;green&#8217; sector and the process to ensure that investments will be directed to it. The government has sought an independent Second Party Opinion (SPO) [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Moving a step ahead towards boosting investor confidence in financing climate action, the Government of India (GoI) has developed a framework for Sovereign Green bonds (SGrB), in which it defines the &#8216;green&#8217; sector and the process to ensure that investments will be directed to it. The government has sought an independent Second Party Opinion (SPO) on this framework to establish its credibility. However, the SPO has underlined some loopholes in the framework. With the increasing need for financing climate mitigation and adaptation activities, several governments, globally, have issued sovereign green bonds. A sovereign green bond is a debt instrument issued by the central or state government to borrow money from investors with the commitment that the mobilised fund will be spent on climate or eco-system related activities. This phenomenon began in 2016 with the Poland government issuing its first sovereign green bond. As many as 38 central governments that have issued green bonds so far, have published a green bond framework as of September 2022. If a government issues a SrGB, especially the first one, it improves the overall standard of green issuance across the nation, according to Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Other companies also begin following the standard set by the initial SrGB. The SGrB framework in India was released on November 9, one and a half months after the announcement of capital mobilisation through SGrB. The need for such a framework is highlighted in the fact that India&#8217;s climate actions are largely financed from domestic resources so far&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/11/govt-releases-framework-for-sovereign-green-bonds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>[Explainer] What is biodiversity finance?</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/explainer-what-is-biodiversity-finance/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/explainer-what-is-biodiversity-finance/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Sep 2022 12:49:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anusha Krishnan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/09/13122600/1200px-Tiger_female_MP_India-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=19856</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environment Explained and Environomy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation finance, and Environmental Economics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity finance is the practice of raising capital and managing funds for biodiversity conservation. It comes under the umbrella topic of conservation finance, which aims to financially support the conservation of land, water, and other natural resources in a long-term diversified manner. Currently, biodiversity finance, to a large extent, is dependent on funds from governmental [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Biodiversity finance is the practice of raising capital and managing funds for biodiversity conservation. It comes under the umbrella topic of conservation finance, which aims to financially support the conservation of land, water, and other natural resources in a long-term diversified manner. Currently, biodiversity finance, to a large extent, is dependent on funds from governmental agencies and private philanthropies. However, the focus is now shifting towards sourcing finances across a variety of funders (from public, private, and non-profits), types of funding (through loans, grants, tax incentives, market mechanisms, etc.) and scale of funding (local, state, national). These include finance mechanisms such as tourism-related taxes/fees, debt-for-nature swaps, conservation trust funds, and payments for environmental services. Currently, biodiversity financing as a global initiative is being piloted by several institutions such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The UNDP, which runs the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN), works with countries to create sustainable financial solutions for ‘nature positive economies’ that can not only protect biodiversity, but will also let it flourish. Why is biodiversity finance important? According to the 2020 report on global biodiversity finance by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) based on data from 2015–2017, global financial support for biodiversity conservation stands at $78-91 billion per year. This includes public domestic expenditure ($67.8 billion per year), international public expenditure ($3.9-9.3 billion per year), and private expenditure ($6.6-13.6 billion per year). However, governments spend more than $500 billion on projects harmful to biodiversity, which&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/explainer-what-is-biodiversity-finance/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>[Interview] Just representation in climate policies empowers women, says Saudamini Das</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/08/interview-just-representation-in-climate-policies-empowers-women-says-saudamini-das/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2022/08/interview-just-representation-in-climate-policies-empowers-women-says-saudamini-das/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2022 11:20:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sahana Ghosh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Clean Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gender]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mangroves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[women]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/08/18093447/Saudamini-Das-inspects-mangrove-plantation-and-fishery-sites-in-Andhra-Pradesh_Saudamini-Das-768x436.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=19582</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections, Environment and Her, and Nature-based Solutions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Conservation finance, Mangroves, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“No one was willing to buy the argument that mangroves buffer against tsunami,” environmental economist Saudamini Das recalls the research and debate surrounding storm protection services of mangroves following the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 that devastated the southeast coast of India. It was 2005 and Das, an Odisha-native teaching Economics in Delhi had just [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[“No one was willing to buy the argument that mangroves buffer against tsunami,” environmental economist Saudamini Das recalls the research and debate surrounding storm protection services of mangroves following the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 that devastated the southeast coast of India. It was 2005 and Das, an Odisha-native teaching Economics in Delhi had just plunged into research, investigating storm protection offered by Odisha’s mangroves in the 1999 supercyclone. She was referring to a study published that year (2005) that showed coastal mangrove forests along India’s southeast coast, mitigated the impacts of the tsunami. “There was a lot of criticism about the study. So, I thought let’s take this topic up,” says Das. Research that drew attention to mangroves Das used the data from several hundred villages to test the impact of mangroves on human deaths during the 1999 Odisha supercyclone. She combined economics with GIS (geographic information system) data. Her research revealed that villages with a wider mangrove cover between them and the coast, experienced significantly fewer deaths than ones with narrower or no mangroves. “Although our results suggest that mangroves saved fewer lives than the government&#8217;s early warning, we would not discount the role of mangroves as an adjunct to early warning systems. Despite being warned, much of the population in Orissa did not evacuate because of limited storm-shelter capacity, concern that deserted houses would be looted, and underestimation of the storm&#8217;s intensity. Mangroves helped save the lives of these people who stayed put,” Das and co-author Jeffrey&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2022/08/interview-just-representation-in-climate-policies-empowers-women-says-saudamini-das/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>Can the Bengal florican make its case at the Convention for Migratory Species CoP?</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2020/02/can-the-bengal-florican-make-its-case-at-the-convention-for-migratory-species-cop/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2020/02/can-the-bengal-florican-make-its-case-at-the-convention-for-migratory-species-cop/?noamp=mobile#comments</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Feb 2020 10:42:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bhanu Sridharan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[S. Gopikrishna Warrier]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2020/02/18094724/Photo-9-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=8668</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Birds, Conservation, Conservation finance, and Migration]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[[This article has been updated after the CMS accepted the proposal about the Bengal Florican. Scroll to the end to read more.] Starting late last week on the 15th of February, government officials, scientists and conservationists from 130 countries gathered at Gandhinagar, Gujarat for the 13th Conference of Parties (CoP) for the Convention for Migratory [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[[This article has been updated after the CMS accepted the proposal about the Bengal Florican. Scroll to the end to read more.] Starting late last week on the 15th of February, government officials, scientists and conservationists from 130 countries gathered at Gandhinagar, Gujarat for the 13th Conference of Parties (CoP) for the Convention for Migratory Species (CMS). The CoP will review the state of migratory birds and animals around the world and will decide which birds and animals will need enhanced protection and collaboration between countries to ensure that they can move freely as they migrate between breeding grounds and wintering grounds. Among the proposals that will be reviewed is one for the protection of an unusual species: the Bengal florican. Bengal floricans are a type of bustard that lives in dry riverine grasslands in India and Nepal in South Asia and Cambodia and Vietnam in Southeast Asia. The way conservationists see it, bustards in India could be flagship species making the case for the protection of our grassland ecosystems. “Bengal Florican is a representative or an indicator species of dry grasslands in the Brahmaputra, as well as Ganga,” said Girish Jathar, a scientist and assistant director at Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). The presence of the species, according to Jathar, indicates a good healthy grassland ecosystem. Tragically, the grasslands that these birds depend on are disappearing, pushing them closer to extinction. Yet, the Bengal florican has received very little attention compared to other bustards like the Great Indian Bustard,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2020/02/can-the-bengal-florican-make-its-case-at-the-convention-for-migratory-species-cop/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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